RUDN Journal of Political Science (May 2022)

Humanitarian and Social Components of International Security

  • Marina M. Lebedeva

DOI
https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-1438-2022-24-2-187-199
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 24, no. 2
pp. 187 – 199

Abstract

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Since the second half of the XX century, the importance of social and humanitarian resources has been increasing. This process intensified in the XXI century, which is reflected in the sphere of international security. The study analyzes the mechanisms through which the social and humanitarian resources affect international security problems, solving or escalating them. If the Copenhagen School began to include the social and humanitarian phenomena in the security sphere, this research focuses on how social and humanitarian resources are used in the security sphere (including in the military field). At the same time, it claims that the growing involvement of social and humanitarian resources in security issues does not mean a decrease in the importance of military and political instruments. The author considers the evolution of the use of social and humanitarian resources in the field of international security from the Cold War period to the present. They show that, in general, the social and humanitarian resources are becoming more diverse in their tools, as well as more and more important in solving international security problems. They note that in conflict situations social and humanitarian resources are used in two ways: 1) for the peaceful settlement of conflicts and 2) in order to win. In addition to conflicts, social and humanitarian resources can also be applied to such areas of international security as terrorism, migration, biogenic threats, threats related.

Keywords